L’Entraineur

As a child Lautrec had regularly attended horse races, and his early sketch-books are filled with studies of jockeys and thoroughbreds. Although he remained an enthusiastic follower throughout adulthood of tracks such as Auteuil and Longchamps, it was only in 1895 that the subject was revived in his art. In this lithograph Lautrec depicts several blanket-clad horses being taken out for their morning exercise routine. The presence of a hill in the background suggests that the location may be Longchamp. Lautrec's close observation of the animals, from the pent-up anticipation of the rearing horse in the background, to the stout little terrier stoically following his master in the foreground, is typically unsentimental and yet reflects his deep affinity with animals.